Nov. 18, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech senior Brandon Sharpe (Lyons, Ga.) entered the season as an unknown, but has established a name for himself as one of the top defensive ends in the country. The Ted Hendricks Award took notice and added the Red Raider to its mid-season watch list Tuesday.

Sharpe entered the season with four career tackles to his credit, but quickly filled the void at defensive end left by the departures of Tech's two all-conference ends from 2008. The former junior college transfer leads the Red Raiders and is second in the Big 12 Conference with 10.5 sacks on the season and leads a defensive unit that is tied atop the league standings with 33 total sacks.

Sharpe also ranked among the school's top 10 in single-season sacks and needs four more to break Adell Duckett's record of 14, set in 2003. He also has three multi-sack games, including four in the win at Nebraska and 3.5 in the win over Kansas.

Texas Tech wraps up the home schedule Saturday against Oklahoma at 11:30 a.m. at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Red Raiders will complete the regular season against Baylor in Arlington on Sat., Nov. 28. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.